Golden Ring Theatre

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The Golden Ring National Folk Music and Songs TheatreRussian: Natsionalnyiy teatr narodnoy muzyki i pesni «Zolotoe koltso» or Национальный театр народной музыки и песни «Золотое кольцо» is located in the north of Moscow, near the DmitrovskayaRussian: Дмитровская Metro Station, just fifteen minutes from downtown Moscow by metro. It was created by the founders of Zolotoye KoltsoRussian: Золотое кольцо (Golden Ring), a popular Russian folk music ensemble whose principal soloist is Nadezhda KadyshevaSoviet and Russian singer. The theatre puts on performances by the ensemble itself as well as by famous Russian pop singers.

THE THEATRE BUILDING AND ITS INTERIORS

In 2005, Golden Ring Musical Ensemble directors, Nadezhda Kadysheva and her spouse, Aleksandr Kostyuk, undertook a large-scale reconstruction of a former movie theatre in the north of Moscow and turned the old Soviet into a modern, full-fledged theatre equipped with excellent facilities.

The medium-sized 512-seat slightly elevated auditorium with an unobstructed view from all seats features two balconies and a VIP-lounge. Visitors to the theatre are welcomed in the modern and spacious main lobby area where the onstage dresses of the Golden Ring’s soloist Nadezhda Kadysheva are permanently on display. A counter selling Russian folk souvenirs and the singer’s albums is to the right of the showcase and there is a buffet to the left of it where guests can enjoy ice-cream, a variety of cakes, salads, sandwiches and drinks. There is no parking available, but, the theatre being located in a residential district, visitors will have no trouble finding a spot to park their car in the surrounding streets. You can travel to the theatre by bus from the metro station or just walk (it will take you 15 to 20 minutes to get to the theatre from the metro).

PERFORMERS

Today, the Golden Ring theatre stage is an outstanding venue for performances and presentations mostly by famous Russian pop singers, including Aleksandr Malinin, Lubov Uspenskaya, Valery Meladze, Aleksandr Serov, Oleg Mityaev, Stas Pyekha, and many others. Performances put on by private theatre companies and shows for kids also take place here. For instance, the founder of the world’s only Cat TheatreRussian: Teatr koshek or Театр кошек , Yuri Kuklachev, makes frequent appearances on this stage. The Golden Ring Musical Ensemble usually gives performances here once a month and goes on tour in Russia and abroad at other times.

The ensemble’s soloist Nadezhda Kadysheva used to wear traditional Russian dresses at the beginning of her singing career; now, she comes on stage with showy and sophisticated hairdos and dressed in original outfits featuring elements of traditional Russian costume. The ensemble performs both folk and art songs and is best known for their hit songs Techyot ruchey (A brook is flowing), Ya ne koldunya (I’m not a witch), Shiroka reka (Wide is the river), Durman-trava (Jimson weed), Zelyonye glaza (Green eyes) and Yablonevy vecher (An evening of apples)

GOLDEN RING: ITS STORY

The Golden Ring Musical Ensemble is widely known in Russia, the post-Soviet countries and beyond. At the peak of its popularity in the mid-1990s, the ensemble’s performances played to packed auditoriums in Europe, Asia, the USA and Japan. The Golden Ring Musical Ensemble was founded in 1988 by the Gnesins’ CollegeRussian: Muzyikalnoe uchilische im. Gnesinyih or Музыкальное училище им. Гнесиных graduate Aleksandr Kostyuk in 1988. The ensemble was given this name, said its founder and member, because Russian folk songs are just as precious as the ring of ancient Russian towns (commonly referred to as the Golden Ringa ring of cities northeast of Moscow, in which unique monuments of Russian history and culture have been preserved).

While at university, Aleksandr Kostyuk met his future wife Nadezhda Kadysheva who was to become the ensemble’s soloist. The music band members first sang in chorus to the accompaniment of balalaikas and guslia Russian multi-string plucked instrument, and then Aleksandr Kostyuk decided to combine the sounds of traditional instruments with modern ones, adding synthesizers, electric balalaikas and percussion to the musical arrangements. 1995 marked the turning point for the ensemble with the release of their first album entitled Vinovata li ya (Am I to blame), which immediately hit the charts in Russia. It featured popular Russian folk songs, such as Vinovata li ya (Am I to blame?), Otgovorila roshcha zolotaya (The Golden Grove), Oy, moroz, moroz (Oh, severe frost), Moy kostyor (My campfire), etc. Popular songs from the ensemble’s new album Techyot ruchey (A brook is flowing), such as Ogney tak mnogo (There are so many lights), Kogda b imel zlatye gory (If only I had mounts of gold), Oy, to ne vecher, to ne vecher (It is not yet evening), Po Donu gulyaet (A young Cossack is strolling along the Don river), Vyidu na ulitsu (I’ll go out onto the street) and many more. The Golden Ring ensemble had released about 30 albums as of 2016, bringing together Russian folk songs and songs with music composed by the ensemble director Aleksandr Kostyuk.